US arms sales to Bahrain to resume
By Geoff Dyer in Washington
May 12, 2012 12:09 am

The US is to resume selling arms to Bahrain a little more than a year after a harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters and despite continued claims of human rights abuses in the Gulf kingdom, which is a key US ally.

The Obama administration said that the arms sales, which Congress has been notified about, would include upgrades for Bahrain’s defence force, but would not involve weapons that could be used against demonstrators.

The decision to restart arms sales was the result of “national security interests”, said Victoria Nuland, state department spokeswoman. It follows a visit to Washington this week by Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s crown prince, who met with Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, and Leon Panetta, defence secretary.

Home to the US 5th fleet, Bahrain has been a key partner of the US in the Gulf for more than 60 years and the military facilities in the country are a central plank in the Pentagon’s efforts to deter Iran.

Other US allies in the region, notably Saudi Arabia, have also put pressure on Washington to maintain its support for Bahrain’s ruling Sunni Muslim royal family, which has faced widespread unrest among the majority Shia Muslim population.

However, the administration came under heavy pressure to scale back its ties last March after Manama declared a state of emergency in response to protests following the entry of Saudi and Emirati troops. In October, $53m in planned arms sales were put on hold pending an investigation of alleged human rights abuses.

A senior state department official said that the new arms sales would help boost the country’s external defences and would include air-to-air missiles, components for F-16 fighter jets and potentially a naval frigate. However, they would not include Humvees, stun grenades or tear gas.

“We are mindful of the continued human rights issues,” said a senior official. “Right now they are at an impasse and the violence is a result of that.”

In a speech last November, Hillary Clinton reflected on the conflicts of interest thrown up by the Arab Spring, particularly in Bahrain. It was fair for people to ask “why does America promote democracy one way in some countries and another way in others?” But she said that each country in the region was different and the administration needed to weigh the risk to US forces, the potential threat from al-Qaeda and the need to keep oil supplies flowing. “It would be foolish to take a one-size-fits-all approach and barrel forward regardless of circumstances on the ground,” she said.

As tensions with Iran have escalated in recent years, the US has been keen to use arms sales to boost the military capabilities of its allies in the region, most notably the $60bn deal with Saudi Arabia which was announced in 2010.

Yes, post 67, which featured one of the more silliest conglomerations of sentences that attempted to be taken seriously that I've ever seen. Roughly, but accurately, paraphrased: voting for -> complicity in torment; complicity in torment -> bar on bemoaning.

Yes, post 67, which featured one of the more silliest conglomerations of sentences that attempted to be taken seriously that I've ever seen. Roughly, but accurately, paraphrased: voting for -> complicity in torment; complicity in torment -> bar on bemoaning.

Voting for -> bar on bemoaning

Oh, you threw me about the Jews and 1938.

It's not silly at all.

If Direckshun didn't know that Obama would supply arms to those she opposes, she certainly does now.

And she has stated she will vote for him again.

That makes her complicit in the very thing she is bemoaning.

Pretty simple stuff.

__________________I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?

It's nice to know that, no matter how horrible a mob may be, you can put the word "spring" behind it's description, and it's suddenly something to be nurtured.

So if you came across a time machine and accidentally got sent back to 1968, would you condemn protestors in the Czech Republic for their "radical" nature against our friends the Soviets? That, after all, was the Prague Spring. Spring's right there in the title.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

I would read an entire blog of SNR breaking down athletes' musical capabilities like draft scouting reports.

If Direckshun didn't know that Obama would supply arms to those she opposes, she certainly does now.

And she has stated she will vote for him again.

That makes her complicit in the very thing she is bemoaning.

Pretty simple stuff.

Oh, is that what you are trying to say? If so, why not say that, instead of the damn silly thing you actually did say in post 67? For your sake, I hope you don't think the above post and post 67 are congruent. It is pretty simple stuff, unless you take one simple thing, and a completely different simple thing, and lump them together as equivalent "simple stuff."

Oh, is that what you are trying to say? If so, why not say that, instead of the damn silly thing you actually did say in post 67? For your sake, I hope you don't think the above post and post 67 are congruent. It is pretty simple stuff, unless you take one simple thing, and a completely different simple thing, and lump them together as equivalent "simple stuff."

They seem very similar to me. Direckshun brought up the military industrial complex of which Obama's apparently part, not I.

__________________I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?

When both parties of a two party system are all in on something I regard as faulty and destructive, I gotta hold my nose. S'how it works.

I'm sure the Bahrainians applaud your nuance as you pull the lever for the guy supplying arms to their oppressors. Bullets shot out of guns purchased from Democrats make them bleed less bitter blood. They die just the same, though.

As long as you hold your nose while you vote, it doesn't taste quite so bitter...to you, I mean. To them, it just tastes like the oppression you voted to support.

Louis CK has a bit where he talks about flying in first class. He always does, and he often sees young men in the military flying to a connection that will take them to the ME. When he does, he thinks about giving them his seat, and it gives him a warm feeling inside. He never ACTUALLY gives them his seat, mind you, but he still considers himself a good person for simply having the thought (yet doing nothing).

I'm assuming that you got a chuckle out of that because you can relate.

I'm sure the Bahrainians applaud your nuance as you pull the lever for the guy supplying arms to their oppressors. Bullets shot out of guns purchased from Democrats make them bleed less bitter blood. They die just the same, though.

As long as you hold your nose while you vote, it doesn't taste quite so bitter...to you, I mean. To them, it just tastes like the oppression you voted to support.

Well put -- you are exactly right.

I can vote Democratic or Republican, or abstain and allow the military industrial complex to grind them down without weighing in with my voice. They're going to hate the results no matter what.

But yeah, I'm sure the people in the Middle East hate us for our freedoms, right? Or because we're infidels...

Has nothing to do with the constant, seemingly politically unstoppable capitalization on their oppression.

If there's something I can do with my vote to slow that down, let me know. As of now, I just see different shades of black.

Some little island not even the size of rhode island, which has never been noteworthy for any reason, wants to replace their king with a bunch of radicals. So what? Aren't you far left types always saying we can't go around policing every country in the world? The root of this nonsense is not even democracy vs no democracy. It's Sunni vs Shia. Why in the world is that any of our business?

I'm sure the Bahrainians applaud your nuance as you pull the lever for the guy supplying arms to their oppressors. Bullets shot out of guns purchased from Democrats make them bleed less bitter blood. They die just the same, though.

As long as you hold your nose while you vote, it doesn't taste quite so bitter...to you, I mean. To them, it just tastes like the oppression you voted to support.

Louis CK has a bit where he talks about flying in first class. He always does, and he often sees young men in the military flying to a connection that will take them to the ME. When he does, he thinks about giving them his seat, and it gives him a warm feeling inside. He never ACTUALLY gives them his seat, mind you, but he still considers himself a good person for simply having the thought (yet doing nothing).

I'm assuming that you got a chuckle out of that because you can relate.

It doesn't matter if Obama does the same thing we castigated Bush for doing, because Obama has goodness in his heart.